How do adult chickens, who are accustomed to a "traditional" waterer learn to use this? Is there any concern about them not catching on?
16234
We got this when our chickens were 5mo and they took to it with little to no help, we just touched the dripper while they were looking.
16235
Mine picked it up within one day. I just pressed the button so some water was there, and they pecked at it and figured it out.
16236
YES! I kept a regular watering container in the coop until I witnessed hens pecking/drinking from the nipples. Chickens are so naturally "curious", they took to the system within a couple of days. I do tap on the nipples regularly (when I'm cleaning the coop), just to be certain water is flowing (nothing has plugged-up); so far, this system has been PERFECT.
16237
Chickens will naturally peck at things and especially if they sense water is near. My chickens love to peck at the faucets in my pens and It is not unusual for me to go out and find they have flooded their pen by pecking on the faucet handle so I don't think your chickens will have a problem finding the waterer at al. Just do not hook this directly up to faucet unless it has something to lower the pressure
16238
I have now have 3 of these they work great. A bit tricky in winter but if you face your heat lamp on the nipples you will be fine. As for chickens figuring it out, they love them. I waited to remove old water bucket, about 3 days. Then just used these new system. I have 45 birds and this is much cleaner and they live them.
16239
No learning curve. Just tap the metal stud a few times with the chickens nearby. They are curious enough to investigate and peck at it.
16240
They're smarter than we think. I was just using a bucket of water before "the ladies" were introduced to chicken nipples. They caught on in less than a day, being the curious creatures they are. In short, there is no adult chicken learning curve.
836694
I've not taken the temp of the heated water. I don't know what birds can tolerate but none of them seem to have a problem. We've had maybe a total of 10 days below freezing this winter and a few of those had lows in the teens. That's really cold for us. Because I have a shallow bird bath, I didn't give a second thought to adding water ever day. Evaporation due to the heater? Maybe a luttle bit.
497369
I always put regular water and have never had ant issues. The other slightly larger birds will perch on it and drink water. i figure its two birds with one stone sort to speak! I have to fill it more often with water but that is just every time I need to change the feeder!
73489
Yes, that's how I use it. I placed some rocks near the edge so that critters can access the water, and have a means of excaping if one should happen to fall into it. I placed mine in a depression in the ground so that the rim is near the ground. I clean the saucer about once a week by running hose water through it, which also replaces the water; birds do not like stagnant water, which also attracts mosquitos. An active circulating water system would be more attractive to birds, but this can be used, using manual cleaning.
2165429
I would recommend a basket for the chicken, and a skimmer for the fish. Thats just my opinion. I like to keep the chicken off the bottom of the pot. Where the fish will not hit the bottom. Hope I'm making some sense of this.
603977
How high up do you have them? Too high & they won't be interested. What do you have in them? Ours prefer straw to shavings. Also, what age are your hens? If they are too young, they won't be interested. And some breeds of chickens just don't set although they'll lay. It took our hens a week or so to start using them & now we find eggs daily in each that we have. Good luck.
287384
The younger birds seemed to get it first for us I just put the bucket bottom to the hight of the chickens back, for the older chickens my 2 yo son tough them what it was and how it worked, they were all around the bucket when he started playing with it and it was like they watched and learned
1519518
I don't know if it would be appropriate for chickens but I have a lot of critters (possums, skunks, raccoons, and neighborhood cats) come to drink from mine on a daily basis. I just bought another bowl to use at work for our community cats. Check out Facebook groups like Fresh Eggs Daily or The Chicken Chick; they could answer your questions about feeding and watering chickens.
831496
As long as you refill daily, it should be an adequate water supply for up to 20 chickens, probably more. However, it's not a certainty that your chickens will use this type of waterer. My flock refused, so I'm back to the old school waterer. Good luck to you because I've seen this waterer used successfully by others and think it a much better choice for keeping the water clean.
206614
That's the exact purpose I bought a medium one for... works great!! I have 7 hens and have kept their water unfrozen by putting a medium zoo med heating pad under their red/white 3 gallon waterer and also under their water tub (I switched to the tub after the red/white waterer kept leaking). Now it's perfect. I have a 4" thick paver as my foundation, then goes on the heating pad, then the waterer. No leaks. No ice. Just happy chickens.
2021643
We use it for both chickens and ducks. It works fine for ducks, but the ducks do need a longer soak in the scalder than chickens. We find that we have to pull a few pin feathers by hand, but the vast majority of feathers are removed by the machine. As for chickens, it works very well and we are very impressed.
867819
If your chickens are still babies, yes, as this litter is soft and warm and small animals enjoy snuggling into it. However, adult chickens have a need to scratch the ground for food so a sandy, grassy or clean dirt floor is best for them. Chickens usually live outdoors so try to memic their natural habitat in their play areas. Care fresh litter is an excellent product to cut down on animal respiratory issues because it's dust free and all natural. This bedding material / litter would work well inside the night time chicken coup where they sleep, but not recommended for outdoor, ground use.
575688
I don't think so so far it just seems to mist well, its NOT a high pressure sprayer. I live on a farm and that chicken poop is hard to get off. Probably need a pressure sprayer.
629103
I have three of them that i use to replace my cockatiels' water dish and food dishes (the top keeps the food from going everywhere and keeps them from nesting on the dishes and filling them with poop). They bathe in the water dish. Their tail doesn't fit, but their bodies are small enough to get in there, fluff up and splash around. They also get to play in the bathroom shower at least once a week.
1785645
You wash it very carefully by putting it under the running water. Have used it once, and am not impressed as it didn't brown the chicken like a broiler would have.
2164246
my chickens took right to them but a friend of mine had your trouble and he just didn't give them any other source of water. He would tap the nipples to get water on them and they started to drink. Also you need enough water to put pressure on the nipple to leak when they peck at it.
206613
That's the exact purpose I bought a medium one for... works great!! I have 7 hens and have kept their water unfrozen by putting a medium zoo med heating pad under their red/white 3 gallon waterer and also under their water tub (I switched to the tub after the red/white waterer kept leaking).Now it's perfect. I have a 4" thick paver as my foundation, then goes on the heating pad, then the waterer. No leaks. No ice. Just happy chickens.